Joss Whedon Defends Ben Affleck as Batman

Joss Whedon and several other figures in the film industry believe Ben Affleck will “crush” his new Batman role.

The announcement that Ben Affleck would be the new Batman in the 2015’s Batman/Superman crossover sequel to Man of Steel, sent practical shockwaves through the internet. While some adopted a wait and see attitude, others were outraged, branding it a huge mistake. While there are many in the fan community who think Affleck may be miscast in the role, however, several of the actor/director’s Hollywood peers have come to his defense.

Val Kilmer, a former Batman himself, urged fans to “Give Ben a chance!” Meanwhile, Joss Whedon, writer and director of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (and The Avengers we suppose) Tweeted his own assessment of the decision to cast Affleck as the Dark Knight. “Affleck’ll crush it,” he said. “He’s got the chops, he’s got the chin — just needs the material. Affleck & Cavill toe to toe — I’m in.”

Perhaps the most spirited response came however, from actor and comedian Patton Oswalt who posted a lengthy defense of Affleck on his Facebook page. “Yeah, the dude’s made some bad films. Every actor has. Every actor does. Every actor will. It’s a huge, arcing career and NO ONE has control over where it goes,” he said. “A Batman portrayed by someone who’s tasted humiliation and a reversal of all personal valences — kind of like Grant Morrison’s “Zen warrior” version of Batman, post-ARKHAM ASYLUM, who was, in the words of Superman, “…the most dangerous man on the planet”? Think for a second and admit that Ben Affleck is closer to THAT top-shelf iteration of The Dark Knight than pretty much anyone in Hollywood right now.”

Oswalt makes an intriguing case, which leads us to ask the question of whether or not people are being a tad too hard on Affleck. Even we’ll confess to being a bit shell shocked by the initial news, but honestly, with many in Hollywood expressing their confidence in Affleck we can’t help but wonder if maybe the right man for the job is the man we’d least expect. What’s your take on it folks?

Source: IGN